Citizen Science the Focus of New Earth Science Week Site

Alexandria, VA - Science teachers and students can go online today to use a new educational resource of the Earth Science Week website, the “Be a Citizen Scientist” page, which features information and links for recommended “citizen science” programs focusing on Earth science.

Citizen science initiatives invite ordinary citizens to participate in scientific research by making observations and contributing to large data sets. Such projects offer great ways for young people, amateur enthusiasts, and other nonprofessional scientists to become actively involved in the scientific process.

The “Be a Citizen Scientist” page, for example, shines a spotlight on initiatives that invite students and others to participate in large-scale research on earthquakes, coastal erosion, flooding, landslides, and other geoscientific phenomena.

Such activities reinforce the Earth Science Week 2014 theme of “Earth’s Connected Systems,” emphasizing the interactions of the planet’s land, air, water, and life systems. The new citizen science page is supported the by the U.S. Geological Survey, which sponsors or has partnerships with many citizen science programs.

Reaching over 50 million people annually, AGI leads Earth Science Week in cooperation with the geoscience community as a service to the public. Each year, community groups, educators, and interested citizens organize celebratory events. Earth Science Week offers the public opportunities to discover the Earth sciences and engage in responsible stewardship of the Earth.

The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of 49 geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists. Founded in 1948, AGI provides information services to geoscientists, serves as a voice of shared interests in the profession, plays a major role in strengthening geoscience education, and strives to increase public awareness of the vital role the geosciences play in society’s use of resources, resiliency to natural hazards, and interaction with the environment.